These Foolish Things
by Fyliwion
Summary: "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she had to walk into mine." Kaito Kuroba's stay in New York gets extended over New Years due to a winter storm. In a city of over eight million people, what were the chances of running into the one woman in charge of catching him?


Author Note: A little something for the holidays that can be read in connection with "We'll Take a Cup of Kindness". All holiday fluff in a long form. You've been warned.

. - .- .- .- .- .-

It was the kind of thing that happened. The kind of way that life had at turning you on your head and proving you wrong.

Kaito had faced improbability enough to know there was no such thing.

A snowstorm, his plane delayed, a holiday with thousands stranded, and a world away from his chosen destination. So, there he was, trapped in New York on New Year's Eve with his apartment cleared out and rented, his things already sent ahead, and goodbyes made out a week before.

He could make one of the parties he supposed. He could have found somewhere to be or go and accepted one of the invitations. He could have even sprung a heist to at least _do_ something.

He could have done a lot of things.

Instead, he trekked to his regular bar and figured he could down whiskey with whichever of his bartenders got stuck on New Year's duty until he could forget his own name.

Both names.

At least it was mostly empty, as he shoved open the door through the wind and snow. He shook off the layer that had attached itself and told himself it was worth it. The hotel had been painfully empty, the faint noise from the street deafening, and his mind active with too many memories.

"Oiy Kuroba, close the door why don't you? You're freezing out my only paying customer!" shouted the bartender from the other side of the room.

Kaito laughed as he pocked the hat and slipped his coat onto the rack with his scarf, "Good to see you too Robbie."

The bartender rolled his eyes, "And here I thought we were finally rid of you. Weren't you quitting town?"

Kaito clapped his hands together as he walked towards the bar to take a stool down from a woman who was nursing a hot toddy, "Have you looked outside lately? There isn't a flight on the Eastern Seaboard leaving before Friday."

He noticed the woman's shoulders tighten slightly as Robbie laughed, "Well lucky for you we're running whiskey specials anyway you like them. Hot Toddy's, Ciders, or just straight into a glass."

She raised a hand to her hair and the gesture caught his attention. He hadn't really thought to pay attention to her, not initially. She wasn't a regular and he was too caught up in his own problems to pay much mind to a stranger, but the way she held her head, the flick of her hair.

He froze in his seat.

In another world she would have laughed. Laughed as he tripped on the stool he was currently sitting on, and only just caught himself on his feet. Laughed as he barely managed to keep from landing on his own ass at his regular bar in a god-forsaken part of Manhattan.

The surprise in her eyes, the shock on her face, it might have made her laugh even now. It should have made her laugh, the complete and utter lack of grace which he stared blindly in shock at the woman next to him.

Instead, there was the thin line of lips, the way her eyes carefully watched the movements that kept him upright when he should have fallen, her tight knuckles around the glass, and a look of betrayal that made him go numb.

Enough to compose himself and do the right thing.

"Never mind Robbie. It's best if I leave, I think."

Impossible. She should already be on a plane and back in Japan. His heist was days ago, it was New Year's Eve, there's no way she could have possibly found out this was his regular bar on the other side of the city. Too suspicious, too coincidental, too perfect, except that he knew how to read her better than anyone and the shock written on her face was as clear as his.

He watched as she took a long sip of her drink and slammed it down.

She dug through her purse a second later reaching for a wallet, "It's fine. Obviously, you know each other, I should- I need to get back to my hotel anyway."

"Look I insist you-"

"I can't believe I-"

The bartender leaned forward, "Is everything alright Kaito? Miss…?"

Aoko turned to look at Robbie with a firm look, "Nakamori. I'm fine. It's late. I should beat the rush and find my hotel anyway before I can't get back at all."

Kaito pushed two twenties towards Robbie as she dug through her wallet.

"I've got this."

"Kuroba, " she said sharply. Her eyes narrowed at him as he pushed the money at Rob.

"Look, I was the one who ruined your evening. Why are you even still in the city? Shouldn't you have flown out directly after the heist given the holidays?"

"Oh please, you just complained about the snow yourself," she spat back shoving her wallet violently into her purse. "How convenient that _someone_ decided to have a heist right over Christmas on the other end of the world and decide to continue it during a freak blizzard. I was under the impression your city doesn't get snow."

"We don't…" he muttered. He hadn't really thought much about it- they'd stopped a good deal of the above ground trains, and he knew certain parts of the city were sectioned off for emergency vehicles only, but he'd been so focused on the heist and Aoko.

"Yes, well, between the holidays and snow the earliest flight back is next Tuesday," she said pushing away from the bar. "And I was hardly going to stay cooped up in my hotel on New Year's Eve, even if the city is shut down."

He couldn't help it, it was just so, "So you just happened to walk into _mine?"_

She scowled, "How the hell was I supposed to know it was _yours!?"_

He laughed, "You're honestly going to say you didn't know I lived around the corner? That my flight was cancelled too? That this is my regular bar? I know you have a whole damn dossier on me Aoko, so you don't need to be coy."

"I'm leaving Kaito-" she fought with her coat as she headed for the door.

Absurd but-

Fuck.

"Don't."

He reached out, placing a hand on the coat and tugging it out of her grip gently. He could tell she was furious, and this might be a horrible idea, but it was New Year's Eve and damned if they weren't in the same empty bar during a blizzard and he'd already made every mistake in the book. What else was there to lose?

She turned in place, a look of incredulousness on her face, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Don't go. I mean… look. Let me get you another drink."

"Ah yes, just how I want to spend the last day of the year. Drinking with a felon in some dive bar thousands of miles away from home." She reached out to try to take her coat back from his grip.

He didn't let go.

"I wasn't convicted."

Which was true, even if it only caused her to rip the coat from his hands and her eyes to meet his in a flash of anger.

"I swear to God, Kaito, this is not the-"

He probably shouldn't have needled her. These days that's usually all he did around her, on the rare chances he got that close during a heist.

"One drink Aoko. It's miserable outside, and I can give you recommendations on things to do while you're stuck here—even with the snow." He held his hands out in a gesture of peace.

Her eyes flickered over him, "I'm here for work not pleasure Kuroba."

"Yes, well, it's not like there's another heist for you to go after. Unless you _were_ stalking me, and you are planning to interrogate me in my regular bar after plying me with copious amounts of liquor. Which seems rather hard to do if you're leaving."

"I assure you Kuroba, I hadn't the slightest idea you'd ever step foot here. There was a distinct lack of hotels available between the storm and holidays. This just happened to be nearby."

"Your agency has the funds for the Gansevoort?"

She snorted, "Now whose playing stupid?"

"Okay so not the Gansevoort." Probably the one that hadn't seen a refurbishment since 1955. Usually her residences were kept in midtown, but that would have been out this close to New Year's.

"Trust me. If I never have to try to find a hotel room in this city again, it will be too soon, " she told him drily.

"Understandable," he watched as she set her coat back on her stool hesitantly.

When he turned, he noticed Robbie was setting down two shot glasses with the whiskey in his hand, "You can both stay, but only if you promise I'm not going to have to break up a barfight. If it's all the same Kuroba I'm pretty sure she can take you."

Kaito grinned as he saw a faint blush tint Aoko's cheeks, "Yeah, I can tell you that's an affirmative. It's fine Robbie. We're old... friends."

The word felt wrong on his tongue. Friends didn't arrest you and proceed to testify you in court. Friends didn't usually try to shoot at you on a rooftop or threaten you in front of crowds of a thousand for things you did to protect them.

Of course, friends also didn't cause you to lose your job and end up suing you for liable. Friends didn't slander your name through the newspapers and make you an international laughing stock.

Especially when they were right.

Friends didn't leave a friend in need.

At the end of the day he was the one who had abandoned her.

She downed the shot.

After a moment she sighed and met his eyes, "Fine. _Fine._ I-" Her lips pursed. "How about we start over?"

He stared back at her.

She held out her hand, "My name is Aoko Nakamori, and I'm working with the Japanese government currently on a preemptive holiday due to the freak weather New York is having. I was in the city investigating a heist but given that was resolved I'm now trying to drink away the rest of the week and forget the reason I'm even here. Pleasure to meet you."

Kaito broke into a smile as he held her gaze, "Kaito Kuroba, a magician just finishing up his run on Broadway, and best known for being on trial as the Phantom Thief KID. Now forced to extend my stay in New York another week due to weather difficulties. The pleasure is all mine."

He caught her hand and ignored the sparks that fluttered through his skin at the touch. He pulled away reluctantly and slipped his hand up to produce a blossoming rose that brushed back into her hold.

It broke the ice.

She laughed.

It was possibly the most beautiful sound he'd heard in years.

She laughed and laughed as she pulled the rose towards her face. Her eyes danced, and she smiled, a true smile that blossomed like the flower as she shook her head in bemusement.

"You can't help yourself, can you?"

The words escaped him before he had a chance to think.

"Never. Especially when it can still make you smile like that."

Her lips tightened, "Kaito-"

There was a bustling of bottles and from across the bar a shout, "Kuroba! Stop flirting with the poor woman! I swear to god if you scare her off, you're paying for your drinks."

The tightness disappeared, and she spun the flower in her fingers.

"He's fine!" Aoko yelled back, before taking a small sip of her neglected drink.

They hadn't been on speaking terms in so long, but suddenly it hardly mattered as the ice broke. Robbie made sure their glasses never ran empty, and they mostly forgot he was there at all. It was good just to talk to her. Talk like old friends without the layers of history that clung to both of them like a second skin.

Maybe it was just convenience. Here were two lonely people who have too many secrets, and no one to tell. But they were secrets they both shared, and as much as it had torn them apart Kaito could see it brought them together as well.

She shouldn't want to talk to him at all. There was no reason for her to be on speaking terms with him. The trial of the century would do that to a person, especially when the criminal was exonerated of all charges.

"You honestly didn't know I was a regular here?" He said sometime later. After the daylight had vanished, and the street bustled with bedazzled Manhattanites on their way to their separate soirees despite the storm.

"Even if I had why would you be here tonight?" She said shaking her head. "It's New Year's Eve. I would have suspected you'd be at some posh party, drinking fancy champagne and entertaining celebrities with your antics. Isn't that what you do now?"

He caught the edge of bitterness on her voice and winced at the truth of her statement. It seemed like all he did these days, prance about and show the media how well he was doing. The ability to be everywhere and constantly liked, to a degree that shadow organizations couldn't quite touch him. It let him deflect his dangers under the spotlight instead of darkness.

But it was exhausting, constantly putting on a face. These days there wasn't even a friendly face to laugh with or tease. Every moment was an act, a façade, and long gone were the parties filled with real pranks and joy. The only ones that came close were attended by KID, and that was the mask he would rather see vanished.

"After a while you get tired of them. They're a bit less fun if there's no one you know, and I can just as easily drink a cocktail here as I can at a party strewn with lovebirds, and drunken singles looking to be put out of their misery."

Himself included.

Best not add that part.

She didn't seem to register it, "Kaito Kuroba tired of the spotlight?"

He laughed, "Happens to the best of us."

She scoffed waving her hand at him, "Unbelievable. If your high school self could hear you right now, he'd probably turn you pink, or prank you worse than Hakuba. You love parties Kaito."

She wasn't wrong. He had or use to think he did. He loved the champagne, the glittering people, the sounds and music, and even the dancing. It was the best part of KIDs adventures, going to places he would have never been invited to, and watching kings and queens dance and laugh and enjoy that _joie de vivre._

"I love people Aoko. Not quite the same."

But somewhere in that, Kaito had become a novelty. Kaito had become a creature to be looked at and marveled. There had been a thrill, when he had been invited as his own person, but there were expectations to uphold. Magic tricks. Surprises. Always bringing something more and unexpected. Kaito was never there to enjoy the party, but to bring life to the party.

"I don't understand," she said watching him curiously.

It was exhausting.

Especially when the parade of faces never mattered. Acquaintances… Never friends.

"It's different," he said mulling over his words. "With a proper date, or a friend. The old precinct parties were fun because you knew everyone was there to have a good time, and you could share the utter ridiculousness of the situation. Here? It's a performance. You aren't there to enjoy yourself. You go to the party to provide a sounding board for others. With the right person it's fun, someone to laugh about the clothes and food, or to share in the experience, but you get tired with nothing to show for it but an empty hotel and a hangover."

She glanced at his face, and for a moment their eyes met. She looked back at her drink a second later.

Kaito frowned, "And you? Someone waiting for you back in Japan officer?"

She didn't look up from her whiskey, "Please Kaito. When would I even have the time?"

He hated how his heart gave a leap at that, the twist in his stomach, the way he watched her hand tighten around the glass.

She looked towards the window where the snow could be falling outside. An almost wistful look crossed her face. A look that reminded him of a young woman he knew in high school, rather than the hardened officer who too frequently had him at his wits end.

"I don't know Kaito. It's New Year's Eve in New York. I feel like there's something to be said, about dressing up and going out anyway. Maybe normally yes, but I feel like it's the one chance to tell the old year to fuck off and the new year to welcome you in."

"Language Agent Nakamori!" he said with a laugh.

"Well it's true!"

No need to point out the empty room was all the more bitter, and the list of numbers and contacts from home a constant ache in his chest that came more on New Year's Day than any other. A list of regrets that he knew could never be changed staring back at him after a low hum of the crowds and alcohol.

He looked at her again, really looked this time. She was gazing out, watching a couple crossing the street decked out in suits and sequins, visible even over the heavy coats they were wearing. The lights glinted off them, and the whole scene might have been from a movie. He saw her hand brush the front of her trousers, and she bit her lip just slightly.

He thought of the invite burning a hole in his pocket that he had planned to just toss away.

"Do you want to?"

Aoko looked up startled.

"What?"

"Do you want to… you know... go to a party? Dress up and all that. I mean you are trapped in New York, I lived here for almost a year, but you just happen to be visiting. It's not fair your sitting around in a dive bar waiting to ring in the year when you could be at a party."

She shook her head, "How would I even get in? Know the one to go to? Especially when they've already started?"

"I have some ways."

She laughed, "What like Cinderella? Are you playing Fairy-Godfather now Kaito? I wasn't aware that was in KID's repertoire."

He tsked at her shaking a finger, "Now now Aoko. You know I'm not KID."

"Bullshit."

They both laughed at that.

God he couldn't risk getting use to this. Not again.

She rolled her eye, "Kaito even if I could get in somewhere this late its not like I packed for a party. I'm not wearing this to a party I don't know anyone at."

She seemed to realize what she'd said the moment the words were out of her mouth. He'd had enough whiskey to be reckless. He wasn't even thinking by the time he judged his ability to go through the trick.

Aoko threw up her hands yelling, "Wait that wasn't a chall-!"

"Too late!"

A puff of smoke.

"lenge."

These were the tricks Kaito took the most delight in. Tricks he had and prepared and so rarely used. Tricks where they sat in some seedy dive on the wrong side of town, and suddenly as the haze lifted you had played fairy-godfather in some warped fairytale.

It was fun when he didn't have to be the villain in the story.

Her trousers and shirt transformed into a fluttering blue evening gown. Silk chiffon that dripped like rolling waves slipping off her shoulders and encrusted with glinting crystals. The back was low, the front carefully cut and dipping between her breasts, and the slit on the side high. She lifted a leg revealing a set of silk stockings and crystal heels encasing her feet.

She looked ready for a ball.

Robbie gave a whistled and slowly applauded from his perch behind the bar.

Aoko scowled as she plucked at the front, trying to hide her cleavage.

"Kaito this dress is ridiculous."

Well it had certainly cost a pretty penny that was for sure. Never worn. Once he bought it, he realized it hadn't fit him, so God only knew why he kept it. Probably for this reason.

If he was being honest, exactly this reason.

God she was stunning.

"Why do you even have something like this on hand?" She muttered under her breath, shaking her foot to look at the heels.

"Be prepared for every occasion." Kaito was not staring. Oh look! His whiskey. He was looking at his whiskey. "Worth keeping though. Fits you like a glove."

A light tint graced her cheeks.

"I could arrest you with this as evidence."

He raised an eyebrow, "For owning women's clothing? We're just around the corner from one of the most popular drag clubs in the city."

"I can find a reason."

"Waste of a good dress."

She shifted again as she adjusted the silk around the barstool. Touching the straps, and finally letting her hand drop from the front she downed her whiskey in a go.

What had he been thinking? He hadn't. _There's the rub._

"We don't have to go Aoko."

It had been a stupid idea. It was already after seven and they'd been drinking for a good portion of the afternoon. Why would she want to go to a party as his date, especially something filled with paparazzi and press and strangers neither of them really knew?

"It really is a terrible idea," she said waving Robbie to pour more into her glass.

"Probably."

She looked up, meeting Kaito's gaze again, this time holding it. Her hair curled around her face, and there was a thoughtful look tinged with a hint of red on her cheeks. She was always beautiful, but right then she looked like a princess.

"Of course, it _is_ New Year's Eve. We're in New York. Are you really going to just stay in your punitive hotel room without even a TV and watch the ball drop on your phone?"

"How do you know my hotel room doesn't have a TV?" she said suspiciously.

"I know the hotels around here. If you aren't at the Gansevoort your probably lucky if the shower isn't in the same room as the bed."

She rolled her eyes, but the way the red darkened told him it was.

He laughed.

She shifted uncomfortably, "It's already next year in Japan."

"Yes, but _we're_ still trapped in New York."

She brushed the front of the gown again playing with crystals, "This seems… a bit much."

"New Year's Eve," he retorted. He was not switching her out of the gown. It was hers now, even If they didn't go. "My invite said black tie attire. It's mostly theatre folk. There will be a bunch of other performers and producers and the like. The host knew my father when he used to perform here. We chatted a bit during my show's run."

"And I'm sure your popularity as Kaitou KID has nothing to do with it."

"Ah, but I'm not Kaitou KID."

"Like hell you are."

"Careful Aoko, or I'll be forced to sue for liable again" he teased as he clinked her glass with his.

"Keep this up and I'm running off with this dress and finding my own damn party" she said taking a long drink of her cocktail.

He paused looking her over. She was missing something though, even if she did run off. His eyes landed on her ears, and it came to him. Of course, he was an idiot.

He knew what he was going to do before he really thought about repercussions. He had it on him, since he hadn't trusted to leave it in a hotel room or packed away. It was really by chance he supposed, but maybe it was also the proximity to the holidays.

Sentimental value and the off chance of a miracle.

It was too perfect to dwell on what it meant.

"Well before you go, you still need a final detail," he said, just drunk enough on whiskey to dare it.

He pulled out the box from his inner coat pocket. He glanced quickly while she was still turned away, the pieces all there glittering.

"Here," he pushed the box into her hands.

"What are you-" she opened the box and nearly dropped it, "Kaito I- _please_ tell me you didn't steal these."

"What!?" He nearly fell off his barstool. "Of course, I didn't steal them! Why would you even—you know I don't exactly do this for pleasure. Also, when has KID ever kept anything?"

"So, you just _happen_ to have thousands of dollars in fine jewels just lying around your suit pockets?" She held up the sapphire choker. The small diamonds knotted around it glinted in the soft light of his lamps.

He supposed it was a fair question, but he wasn't going to just leave them in the hotel or ship them home. Plus, sentiment. Oh well, best he got rid of them entirely.

"It doesn't matter alright? Look I just do. You may as well wear them and have them shown off at party. They'll match nicely with the gown." Which it did. Beautifully. The colours complimented each other, although not as much as they did her eyes. The exact same shade of blue that caught on the light and proved impossible to miss.

"Kaito-"

He sighed and took the necklace from her hands, undoing the latch and motioning for her to turn. Her lips pursed, but she sighed as he set the necklace around her neck. His fingers stayed steady, he managed to continue breathing, and he refused to think about how he thought the moment would go when he'd first purchased them. After his first real magic show. After he'd finally started achieving his dreams. Back when he thought they might still have a chance and KID might just disappear.

At the time he'd thought it optimistic.

Stupidity was the word he preferred these days.

"There," he said softly.

It completed the outfit. She'd be a match for any of the models or movie stars gracing the streets that night.

More so.

She touched the necklace and looked at him in disbelief, "Kaito I can't accept this."

"You absolutely can," he said catching her hand and squeezing it. "I insist. You should get one evening to enjoy yourself. Think of it as a belated gift for all the headaches I give you," he drew out the invitations and handed them to her.

Robbie leaned over the bar and grinned, "You can take me if you like. We'll make Kuroba watch the bar."

Looking at her, really looking at her Kaito had to smile, "You can you know. I won't begrudge you. You really should just enjoy a proper party. No reason you have to go with your archenemy. I'm just the magician who provided the magic. No reason for both of us to wake up regretting the year."

And alone.

Thank god for his poker face. It hurt so much he thought he might shatter.

"Kaito, you aren't my archenemy," she said. He realized she hadn't dropped his hand as she gave it a light squeeze.

"I-"

She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Aren't you going to change? My date should at least try to look the part I think."

He brightened up and winked, "Oh I think I can manage that much."

"Just don't look more dazzling then me," she said flicking him on the shoulder.

He laughed, "Impossible."

It was likely a mistake. But if it was, well it was one he was willing to make.

. - .- .- .- .- .-

They made a couple.

It was impossible not to. The moment he helped her out of her coat, and they caught sight of his face there were photos. To his surprise, Aoko seemed completely unperturbed, just shifted her arm in his and laughed at his somewhat awestruck face.

"What?"

"I just thought-"

She rolled her eyes, "More than a decade of chasing you? It takes more than a few cameras to scare me away. Plus, I look more fabulous than you for once."

He laughed, his hand resting on her back and trying not to focus on the feel of his skin on his fingers, or the way she shivered at his touch and leaned in.

Of all the ways he thought his night might have turned, this was not one of them.

She commanded the room like a crime scene. Her smile charming the host, her demeanor capturing more than a few looks. Kaito felt a pang of jealousy as he saw heads turn, and his fingers lingered when she didn't pull away.

 _Just friends Kuroba. Let her enjoy herself._

Only she hadn't pulled away yet.

Thank God they hadn't been too late for the dinner. He plied them both with water and food, and she didn't seem to notice the glances or lingering vultures. It sobered them both a little, as she went on about the venue, the décor, the view. She laughed as Kaito nearly jumped at one of the fish dishes at a nearby table and teased him over his hot chocolate rather than coffee.

"Still haven't grown up have you?" she said tapping his cup.

"I can't believe you take yours black now," he told making a face.

"Mm you've only yourself to blame. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now anything else is too sweet."

"Even cocoa?"

Her laughter was like a drug, "I can't remember the last time I had a cup."

He grinned and pushed his mug towards her hands, "You'll never got back Aoko."

She raised an eyebrow and took a sip. Her eyes closed in extasy and she made a slight moan that should've been illegal. He watched her tongue dart out to catch the rim of the glass, and he immediately wished he had access to a cold shower.

Maybe he should just go jump in a snow drift.

"Oh."

"Right?"

She took another sip before opening her eyes, "Warm and sweet, but not too sweet. You're right. Perfect."

"Like you."

The words tilted from his mouth before he could think better. He saw her smile catch and he fumbled to explain, "I mean. Like ice cream. You once said-"

"Cold and sweet. Yes, I remember Kaito," her eyes looked worried and he wished he hadn't brought it up.

"Yes will, I guess that makes you like hot cocoa. Warm and sweet but with a hint of bite," he said forcing a grin.

"I'm not sure that's a compliment," she still didn't look particularly amused.

"Sweet is boring. You are far too sharp for that. After all, you're the only person to catch Kaitou KID after all."

Her look was pensive, and he wondered if he'd ruined it entirely. Instead, she set the cup down and lifted her head to the swell of the jazz band in the other room. She stood, brushing off the silks and he felt his stomach plunge.

Well, she looked lovely. At least hopefully she wouldn't be alone that night, not if the way the other eligible bachelor's were glancing her way.

He didn't expect the hand on his, "Come one. I want to find champagne, and I heard they were dancing in the other room."

"Aoko?"

"This is a party isn't it?" she said frowning.

"I-"

"You are really terrible at this aren't you?" she said shaking her head with a laugh. "Come on Kaito. It's New Years Eve. I wouldn't have come out with you if I hadn't wanted to."

His pulse gave a jolt and somewhere he felt a small gleam of hope well up where it had no business being.

"As my lady commands," he said with a bow. "Lead the way."

. - .- .- .- .- .-

"Dance with me!" she said catching his hands and pulling him towards the dance floor after another flute of champagne.

"I think you're a little tipsy," he said knowing he was there himself. Half drunk on her for that matter. His mind too caught up in Aoko to even consider rationality.

"So are you," she said laughing as he obliged her request, slipping a hand around her waist and another in her hand. Her fingers were small and warm, and the way they entwined with his made the butterflies in his stomach fly.

"Assuredly so," he said careful to lead her feet around the floor.

She shifted her head to his shoulder and he wondered if his heart could pound itself out of his chest. He couldn't remember the last time they'd been so close, perhaps not since high school, not since he believed KID would simply go away and they'd be together and-

They spun around the room, his feet and skills compensating for the occasional heel landing on his. Looking down, he could see her eyes searching his face and he wondered what she saw there.

The music changed, and her arms slipped up, pulling him closer. He felt a bit of regret that he'd given her a dress with such a low back, his hand slipping along the smooth skin, making soft patterns while he heard her breath catch, and felt her press against him.

 _Heaven, I'm in heaven, and my heart seems so that I can hardly-_

"Thank you," she said softly into his shoulders. She didn't sound as tipsy as he thought, indeed, there was very little sign of any loss of composure in the way her hand tightened on him and the clear, sharp sound of her voice. "Tonight's been perfect."

"I'm glad."

He hummed to the music, his fingers dancing along her skin in ways to make her breathing jagged and her cheek nestled against his neck. She made no move to pull away, and he didn't care. Right then it didn't matter.

At that moment, he could just be another man dancing with the woman he loved.

He'd take it.

. - .- .- .- .- .-

"Ten! Nine! Eight!"

The music had stopped, and they'd pulled away from the crowds. Everyone was shouting along as the old year fled with every passing second. Kaito felt a rush of exhilaration as he felt her hand in his pulling him through the room.

"Six! Five!"

The balcony was mostly empty. Not as oppressively hot from the press of bodies and yells. The open air cold and biting and the wind battering at her carefully tamed curls as they slipped through the open doors.

"Three! Two!"

He looked down to see her eyes trained on him. Not the sky line, not the people, not the sudden eruption of fireworks over the park, or the blast of confetti from ten blocks away. The words were on her lips, but he barely heard them over the rapid ascension in his heart beat.

"Happy New Year," the words pale and insignificant on his tongue, stumbling as he found himself caught up in her smile, in the realization her hand was still in his, at the worried crease between her brow, and-

She seemed to be watching him expectantly, and his free hand caught her cheek. There were couples kissing now, most people seemed to be kissing. He meant to lean down and catch her cheek or forehead or just a kiss between friends, but she raised up to meet him and her hand caught his lapels and whatever thought he had was forsaken by the press of lips against his.

God.

Oh God.

It had been too long. Too fucking long. And this? This was everything he'd imagined. Dreamed of. Wished for.

He let go so he could pull her closer. His hand meeting skin again that caused a small little groan into his mouth. He felt her breath catch, as she pulled herself even closer, fingers raking his arm through his coat. He felt a small nip on his bottom lip, nearly causing him to laugh but instead letting the kiss grow more heated. He felt like a teenager, wanting to explore and memorize every curve of the body pressed tightly against his.

He could feel her shiver as his fingers ran along her back, over her shoulder blades, down her spine, teasing carefully at her lower back and eliciting a sharp breath and soft moan.

They really, really should probably get off the balcony.

He tried to tug away, and he caught the sudden worry in her eyes and couldn't. He brought his lips down to catch them in a chase kiss, one, two, three, flutters as small sighs escaped her. Her hands were trembling, and he couldn't—wouldn't. He pulled her against him, resting his head atop of hers as he felt her body shaking slightly against him, his arms wrapped around her trying to keep the wind away.

For the first time all evening they were almost alone. The only two people idiotic enough to step out into a blizzard.

"Just for another moment," she said softly into chest.

"Whatever you want."

He'd promise her the moon and find a way to steal it if she asked.

After a moment, as the wind abetted, and his fingers continued, they're ministrations along her back she sighed into his jacket as the cold nipped at them both.

"Can we go home?" She asked softly as she looked up at him.

It startled him. Japan? Her room? His rooms? Together? Kaito's brain had gone offline hours ago, but even then, the question was so far removed from anything he ever thought he'd hear here ask again he couldn't imagine the answer.

She was still wrapped against him though, and she felt her fingers tease along the buttons of his shirt, along his chest, her nose nudging where he'd loosened the top button and causing his breathing to run ragged.

"Whenever you want," he said trying to keep his voice neutral.

She nodded, letting herself separate by only a little, enough they could walk together, but so his arm was still wrapped around her. There was no one he needed to say good bye to, not with the room wrapped up in drunken New Years and passing acquaintances. The host had disappeared, and the night had been spent caught up entirely in Aoko.

He barely remembered getting their coats or hailing a cab by some New Years miracle.

She slid against him, her cheek on his shoulder as he tried to figure out how to ask her where they were going. Terrified that the answer would break the spell, and he'd wake up to find himself back at Rob's with an empty whiskey glass.

"You're staying at 10th and Jane, right?"

He blinked down at her as she tilted her head, "Or are you staying somewhere else?"

"It's close enough."

"10th and Jane please," she called to the driver. He didn't question as she slipped back against him, forcing his arm back around her and resting her head against his shoulder.

"Is this okay?" she asked as him as the cab made a right towards the West Side Highway.

"I told you, didn't I? Anything you want."

She looked up, and when her lips brushed his in a light kiss this time, he let himself just fall.

. - .- .- .- .- .-

He'd tried to pour them a night cap or put on a pot of coffee.

He offered as he closed the door and took her coat. He tried not to think about what they were doing as he worked on the latch, aware of the woman in his hotel room and his KID things bundled next to where he hung her outer wear.

That they were alone, truly alone, for the first time all evening.

She slipped off her shoes, tossing them under the desk, looking around the room laughing, "Obviously I should take up thieving. My hotel room would fit in the closet of yours."

"Wait until you see the bathroom," he said smiling at her as he took off his suit jacket. "There's a waterfall in the shower."

She disappeared into the other room, and he heard the sound of water and a yell of excitement before she reappeared. "Oh my God there is!"

"Right?"

Aoko stood there, as he fiddled with his cufflinks and staring at this woman who brightened up the room. A woman that he never thought would smile at him like that again, or even so much as give him the time of day. A woman who had taken his life and turned it upside down again and again since the first time he'd met her outside a clocktower and given her a rose.

"Coffee? A little something stronger?" he said trying again to break the silence. Still more terrified than he ever had been during a heist.

She strode across the room, shorter for her lack of heels, but still utterly in command. He swallowed as she caught his wrist, helping him taking out the cufflink he was currently struggling with, her fingers brushing over his wrist.

"Are those the only choices?" she asked. The sleep that had been in her eyes was gone now, and they were suddenly both wide awake.

"I suppose I could-"

She reached up and pulled him down for a kiss.

His arms were around her the moment their lips touched. Her fingers grabbed at his collar, and he lifted her in his arms as she moaned into his mouth. It was the kiss they'd had on the balcony, only more heated, less tied down, freed from the restraints of their time and place.

When the broke away Aoko was laughing, "I thought Kaitou KID was supposed to be this fantastic seducer," she teased grabbing a belt loop and pulling him against her. His hand dropped, and it brushed her leg through the slit in the dress. He ran his fingers along the skin and to his indignation she giggled.

He was in so much trouble.

"I'm not-"

"KID. Of course, you aren't," she said pressing her lips against his. "Just like I'm not in your room unchaperoned." His hand was making its way up her thigh of his own accord. Damn, damn the soft feel of the lace of her nearly none existent knickers. He heard her give a hiss and spread her legs further apart to pull herself close against him. Tentatively he slipped his thumb between the fabric and she let of a small cry as her knees buckled. He caught her easily, holding her in his arms as slid her on to his bed.

"I assure you," he said taking a chance. "I'm much better."

A finger this time, under her skirts and under the lace of her underwear. Pressing and firm and causing her to grab at the bed with a cry.

"Bastard!"

He laughed as he flicked the spot a second time causing her to jolt on the bed, "Now, now Aoko you know very well my father loved my mother very much."

She reached up grabbing his shirt and causing a button to fly after he'd removed his hand. She pulled herself up as he suddenly found himself straddling her during a kiss. Her fingers fought along the front, and his shirt pushed away a moment later as they explored his bare chest. He saw her pull away, her eyes scanning for who knew what. Pausing momentarily at a handful of the newer scars that were still striking against his skin. Her thumb brushed along them, soft kisses that left him groaning and his pants far too tight, and damn if she still wasn't full dressed beneath him.

She seemed to read his mind as she shifted, shifted and pulled herself up, breath ragged and pulling at his arms.

"Unzip me," she said softly.

The heat turned soft. In that moment, with his shirt gone to the floor, and her curls back in a wreck around her face, and a soft fear he saw echoed in her face from his own.

He bent down, holding her arms and catching her in an easy kiss. Slow and languishing and breaking away to slip behind her and find the zipper telling himself it was just another gem, and there was no reason for his hand to be trembling.

The gown slipped down around her, and her underwear was simple yet delicate. All Aoko. The stocking somehow matching as she froze once the fabric had fallen. He ran his finger along her back, stopping just short of where her underwear began. Wrapped a hand around her stomach he bent down, pressing kisses along her neck, shoulder, back, and his fingers catching her bra latch as she gave a hitch in her breath and her hand darted up to hold it for a moment.

His hand moving up to rest above it.

"Is this alright?" he whispered.

Her bra fell, and her hand caught his and moved it upward, to cup her breasts, warm and erect with their sudden freedom from their confines.

He buried his face against the back of her neck, his hands exploring without his eyes as he listened to her wrecked breathing.

"Don't you dare stop," she said turning in his arms.

He lost track as she pulled him back to the bed. Lost track as he traced kisses across her body and let her nip along his skin as she left marks he wished would stay forever. He barely kept track as his kisses dipped lower, pushing between her legs as his fingers brought her cries again and again.

His tongue leaving a trail as he licked at the lace and silk of her knickers. Almost a kick in the face as it dwelled along her inner thigh.

"Kaito please!"

She was so wet she was already damp through the fabric. He made quick work of it a moment later, sharply aware that this was Aoko. _Aoko._ The sharp musky scent of sex that clung to her body. The sweetness. The bitter taste on his lips that he savored like a dessert that had only ever been forbidden. The woman that he would do anything, anything for.

The distinct fear he would never be able to go back after tonight.

She writhed under him, his fingers sinking to hold her legs in place as he lowered his head again.

God, she tasted-

"Kai-Kaito! God. Oh God-" she cried out as he pushed forward.

He was good.

He was very good.

He knew he was very good.

She was wrecked when she finally pulled him back up, shaking as she fought his belt and too tight trousers. When they slipped free his cock pushed against the confines of his briefs. Her fingers trailed over the front, the sight of her debauched and small pale breasts peeked and swollen and….

He leaned down taking the nipple in his teeth, swirling them around in his tongue as he felt her thrust beneath him. Her fingers slipping inside his briefs and-

God he'd lose it before he was even in her.

She had little patience as she pulled them down, her eyes taking in his cock. Well he was damn proud of it. It was of no little consequence and—

When her hand brushed the tip, his hips snapped forward.

"Fuck" he said.

"In a minute," she retorted as her fingers ran over it again feather light.

He laughed through the torture, as did she, the shine of sweat already on them both as she slid back onto the bed, her legs open and welcoming.

"Condom?"

He nodded forcing himself together enough to rummage through his side drawer, thankful for posh hotels. He'd probably be paying a fortune for them, but it wasn't like he'd expected to need any himself.

Who was there to bring back?"

He fought with the packaging, and Aoko took the packet and tore it open before running her hand down his cock again. This time she slipped it over the tip, slowly rolling it along the shaft in slow torture, and then brought her hand around to slide over his ass.

"Kaito. Please."

"Are you su-"

" _Bakaito_."

She pushed him back onto the bed. In a swift movement she was straddling him, and a moment later she let herself slide herself down, around, the tight wetness surrounding him as he jerked at the feeling.

" _Aoko."_

The lay like that, joined, frozen for a moment as her eyes met him, and their breath both utterly ragged. She had never looked so beautiful, as his hands ran along her hips, and suddenly she was riding him, and it was all he could do to keep any semblance of control.

At some point he managed to flip their positions, pinning her to the bed as his lips caught hers, and her legs tightly locked around his waist. There were teeth and hands and cries, and he could no longer remember how up was down and by the time they both came they were trapped in delirium.

When the tremors had subdued, he could do little beyond a quick clean up, and letting himself fall back in her arms. She was quiet, staring at the ceiling, as his fingers ran over her. Her breath caught, and she turned into him as he held her, drawing pattern across her skin.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep. Listening to the sound of her breathing and the soft falling snow outside.

When he woke in the early hours of the morning, before light had even begun to creep over the fresh layer of snow, he turned to see her watching him.

Turned to catch her in another soft kiss. Turned to catch her hands and body in a muddled tangle of arms and legs. Soft kisses and murmurs of promises that his sleep riddled brain spoke out loud rather than kept hidden.

A murmur of names, and instead of the fury of a chase something else entirely.

Kaito may have slept with other women, men, anything to try to make him forget and move on.

But this was different.

" _I love you."_

The words were like water pouring in the silence, neither knowing who said it first.

Their bodies said the rest.

. - .- .- .- .- .-

She was still asleep when he awoke a third time. The light was grey and dim, but bright enough to know it was already broaching afternoon. Her hair tickled his face, and she'd managed to curl into his arms with the tenacity of an octopus.

He stroked the hair from her face, trying to push down the terror that was threatening his senses.

It was one thing to want something and know you'd never have it.

But this….

"Please don't regret this," he whispered against her hair.

Her eyes fluttered open and she yawned, "Regret what?"

He took a breath as her eyes focused and he saw the confusion and then realization. The memories.

He remembered her soft cries in the early morning. The broken breath. His name on her tongue as he-

"Oh," she said softly eyes trained on his face. She reached up, her hand brushing his cheek and leaving his chest uncovered. She let the sheet fall as she brushed his hair away.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

His world came crashing around him. The fear, the heartache, the knowledge and the knowing of what he could have and wouldn't and-

"Of course," he said trying to grasp for a mask.

"Kaito. _Kaito_ stop. Look at me," she said forcing him to look back at her. "I wouldn't have… I wouldn't have come back unless I meant it. Do you think I'd have, that you-" her breath caught? "We've known each other too long for me to risk that for a quick fuck."

"It was New Years and we'd both been drinking-" he said still trying to compose himself.

"And I seem to recall me instigating the whole thing," she added sitting up more. It was unfair, the way her breasts tightened in the cold air, and the way she brought a sheet to just barely cover them. "I also seem to recall us both making promises this morning."

"I-"

"Don't care," she said wrapping her fingers around his head and leaning in for a kiss.

They fumbled under the sheet for a bit, before coming up from air, still entangled together as she laughed at him.

"Coffee? Then we can get my things from my hotel?"

"Your things?"

"You have a TV. It seems far more practical."

His brain went offline as she smiled at him mischievously, and slipped out from under the sheet. He watched as she stretched, and he his fingers itched to pull her back to him. "But first, you promised me a waterfall."

He laughed from where he sat up in the bed.

"Did I?"

She walked towards the bathroom smiling, "Care to join me?"

"If you'll have me," he said slipping from under the bed towards her.

"I caught you once, before didn't I?" she said sliding into his arms.

"Aoko."

"No escaping this time."

 _I love you._

Maybe this year things would be different.

Maybe it was time to go home.


End file.
